Delaware Senate to Consider Online Casino Legislation

The legislation that will make it legal for the state of Delaware to operate an online lottery, table games and additional sports betting sites, passed in the state House and is currently waiting debate in the state Senate. Sponsored by Governor Jack Marshall, the bill is known as the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 and it received a favorable 29-8 vote. Many in the House expressed that the reason they voted in favor of the legislation is that they hope it will stimulate the economy by bringing business to top online casinos and no deposit casinos.

After the vote, Ed Sutor, CEO of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino stated, “What this bill does do is it has the potential to preserve jobs that are currently there. The industry is taking a lick. I would say this is not a jobs generator; this is a jobs preserver.”

Republican Representative Lincoln Willis, who voted favorably weight in, “I have a lot of folks in my district that work at Dover Downs. The reason for my vote is that we’ve got to protect those jobs that we have. Yes, there are way too many moving parts in this bill, and we could have done it cleaner, but it’s necessary.”

If the bill passes, Delaware’s three casinos will be able to provide online casino games on their sites, including blackjack, online slot machines and poker legally. Bars and restaurants throughout the state would also be able to provide players with favorite games like Keno, instant lottery games as well as sell pro-football parlay cards.